The  First  'Baptism  in  the  Inland  Sea,  Japan 


Amfrlratt  Sapttsf  iltHaianarg  Intott 

THEMONT  TEMPLE,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


jcan  SecHon 


THE  ” FUKUIN  MARU” 


*‘3IFuktt£n  JMacu” 

THE  GOSPEL  SHIP 

HE  Inland  Sea  of  Japan,  famous  for  its  scenery  of 
exquisite  beauty,  lies  between  the  southwestern 
portion  of  the  main  island  of  Hondo  and  its  two 
near  neighbors  on  the  south,  the  islands  of  Kiushiu 
and  Shikoku.  Its  charm  consists  in  the  many 
wooded  and  terraced  islands,  large  and  small,  which 
dot  its  surface,  many  of  which  rise  abruptly  from 
the  water’s  edge,  some  to  a height  of  two  or  even 
three  thousand  feet.  Small  hamlets  lie  nestled  at  their  base, 
and  are  alive  with  all  the  strange  activities  of  the  East.  Every 
island  and  every  village  has  its  Buddhist  temple  and  Shinto 
shrine  which,  with  their  characteristic  architecture,  add  to  the 
natural  charm  of  the  landscape.  Farming  in  miniature,  sugar 
growing,  weaving  on  hand  looms,  straw  braiding,  making 
mats  and  toys,  fishing,  and  quarrying  granite,  are  among  the 
industries  extensively  carried  on.  Every  island  has  its  school- 
teacher and  doctor,  who  cling  to  their  antiquated  methods 
with  a respect  for  tradition  quite  in  harmony  with  an  oriental. 

Up  to  within  a few  years,  however,  no  attempt  had  been 
made  to  give  the  gospel  to  the  multitudes  living  on  these  islands, 
who  in  spite  of  the  great  natural  beauty  in  the  midst  of  which 
they  dwell,  appear  wholly  indifferent  to  nature’s  God.  Some 
years  ago,  Rev.  R.  A.  Thomson,  a missionary  of  the  Missionary 


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Union  in  Kobe,  Japan,  at  tlie  eastern  end  of  the  Inland  Sea, 
urged  that  steps  be  taken  to  meet  the  need  of  this  field,  and 
suggested  the  using  of  a mission  ship,  which  might  serve  both 
as  the  home  of  the  missionary  and  as  a means  of  reaching  these 
numerous  islands  with  their  hundreds  of  towns  and  villages. 
He  succeeded  in  arousing  the  sympathy  and  interest  of  a friend 
in  the  project,  Mr.  Robert  S.  Allan,  a ship  builder  of  Glasgow, 
Scotland,  and  a generous  donation  was  made  to  the  Missionary 
Union  with  which  to  build  the  proposed  vessel. 

(daptaitt  and  tlxt  ^t|tp 

The  question  of  where  to  secure  the  man  for  the  enterprise 
was  not  easily  answered,  but  in  the  good  providence  of  God  a 
diligent  search  was  rewarded  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Luke  W. 
Bickel,  son  of  Dr.  Philipp  Bickel,  for  years  the  devoted  manager 
of  our  Baptist  Publishing  House  in  Cassel,  Germ.any.  Captain 
Bickel  seemed  eminently  fitted  to  meet  the  peculiar  demands  of 
the  occasion;  for,  having  been  an  officer  in  the  British  merchant 
marine,  and  later  a missionary  in  the  heart  of  London,  he  was 
at  home  on  land  and  sea,  and  could  both  sail  a vessel  and  preach 
the  gospel.  America  is  his  native  land  and  he  gladly  responded 
.to  the  call  of  the  Missionary  Union.  He  went  to  Japan  in  1898, 
and  at  once  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  language  and 
to  the  superintendence  of  the  building  of  the  ship. 

The  “ Fukuin  Maru,”  or  “ Ship  of  Good  News,”  as  she  was 
called,  was  built  at  Yokohama  and  launched  in  September, 
1899.  Her  chief  dimensions  are:  Length  between  perpendic- 
ulars, seventy-five  feet;  length  over  all,  eighty-five  feet;  breadth 
extreme,  nineteen  feet,  two  inches;  depth  moulded,  ten  feet. 


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six  inches.  All  timbers,  strakes  and  deadwoods  are  of  native 
hard  wood,  decks  and  planking  of  Oregon  pine.  The  vessel  is 
copper  fastened  and  copper  sheathed;  her  large  spars  are  of 
Oregon  pine,  the  small  ones  of  native  “ hinoki.”  Her  rig  is 
that  of  a two-masted  fore  and  aft  schooner.  The  trial  trip 

346  miles  of 


extended  over 
ocean  and  nar 
tween  Y o k o 
Kobe.  The 
vere  one,  but 
were  more 
tory.  It  w a s 
of  the  year  for 
three  gales 
tered  during 
“ But,”  says 
whether 
whether  ‘full 
all  plain  sail,’ 
to  ’ or  ‘ beating 
shore,’  all  of 
convey  to  the 
something 


CAPTAIN  BICKEL 


rows  lying  be- 
ll a m a and 
test  was  a se- 
the  results 
than  satisfac- 
the  worst  time 
that  coast,  and 
were  encoun- 
f i V e days, 
the  captain, 
‘running,’ 
and  by  under 
whether  ‘ hove 
hard  off  a lee 
which  terms 
nautical  mind 
definite,  the 


result  was  the  same,  and  justified  the  official  mark  against  the 
name  of  the  ‘ Fukuin  Maru,'  ‘ Star  Ai  at  Lloyd’s,  10  years.’  ” 
A permit  to  float  the  stars  and  stripes  was  secured  from  the  Min- 
ister of  Communication,  and  with  a heart  full  of  joyful  antici- 
pation, yet  not  without  a sense  of  peculiar  responsibility  in 
undertaking  a work  which  partook  so  largely  of  the  nature  of  an 
experiment,  the  captain  of  the  little  craft  set  forth  on  his  mission. 


S 


Wlial  tlir  fflaptain  3Fnun& 

The  experiences  which  have  been  crowded  into  the  years 
since  first  the  “ Jesus  Ship  ” and  the  “ long  foreign  priest  ” 
made  their  appearance  among  a people,  many  of  whom  had 
never  seen  a foreigner  and  knew  nothing  of  the  message  he  had 
come  to  bring,  have  been  sketched  in  picturesque  language  from 
time  to  time  by  the  ready  pen  of  the  captain.  Of  the  people 
whom  he  found  and  his  reception  among  them,  he  says: 

I find  the  islands  to  be  far  more  densely  inhabited,  and  by  a more  intelli- 
gent class  of  people  than  one  might  naturally  expect.  The  people  are 
also  more  isolated  than  one  might  believe  to  be  possible.  Many  old 
customs,  ideas,  and  prejudices  which  have  disappeared  elsewhere,  are 
here  in  full  force,  but  with  them  there  remains  a much  greater  simplicity, 
greater  sincerity  and  honesty  of  purpose  than  in  the  large  centers  where 
the  race  for  wealth  has  led  men,  in  a great  measure,  to  crowd  to  the 
wall  qualities  which,  in  the  absence  of  any  true  religious  influence,  are 
seldom  deeply  rooted.  The  aims  and  desires  of  the  vast  majority  of 
these  people  are  exceedingly  low;  their  religious  ideas,  as  far  as  they 
have  these  at  all,  are  represented  by  a vague  fear  of  things  incomprehen- 
sible to  them.  The  need  of  effort  in  their  behalf  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  of  113  towns  and  villages  aggregating  110,000  souls,  visited 
during  the  first  three  months,  only  one  has  been  found  in  which  the  gospel 
has  ever  been  proclaimed. 

fVe  have  found  great  encouragement  in  the  reception  accorded  to 
the  vessel  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands.  Our  meetings  have  been 
quiet  and  orderly,  usually  being  limited  only  by  the  size  of  the  houses  in 
which  they  were  held,  and  those  the  largest  available.  We  have  expe- 
rienced no  small  amount  of  kindness  at  the  hands  of  the  people,  who 
have  listened  gladly  to  our  message.  While  most  of  the  interest  shown 
is  the  outcome  of  curiosity,  pure  and  simple,  we  rejoice  to  know  that 
we  are  doing  the  bidding  of  our  Master  in  seeking  to  make  known  his 
message  of  love. 


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(0nr  ^par*H  Work 

At  the  close  of  the  first  year’s  cruise  it  was  reported  that 
sixty-two  islands  had  been  visited,  with  some  350  towns  and 
villages.  The  reception  by  officials  and  people  alike,  with  few 
exceptions,  had  been  most  cordial,  although  there  was  as  yet 
no  indication  that  his  message  was  understood  or  appreciated. 
In  renewing  his  permit  from  the  government  for  another  year, 
the  captain  was  encouraged  to  learn  that  a notice  concerning 
the  vessel  and  her  captain  had  been  sent  to  every  village  office, 
with  a request  that  he  be  treated  with  courtesy.  Of  the  ex- 
periences and  efforts  of  the  year  he  writes : 


When  we  look  back  upon  the  year,  our  hearts  are  filled  with  joy  in  the 
thought  of  the  privilege  of  being  the  first  messengers  of  God’s  love  to  so 
many  island  homes.  But  as  we  look  into  the  faces  of  the  forty  thousand 
in  the  meetings,  and  the  other  thousands  met  by  the  wayside,  with  all 
their  wonder  and  astonishment  at  the  old,  old  story,  so  new  to  them, 
and  the  sorrow,  sadness,  and  sin  of  which  they  speak  so  plainly,  bear  in 
upon  our  hearts,  we  long  to  reach  more  rapidly  the  thousands  in  other 
islands  for  whom  the  long  silence  of  the  centuries  has  never  yet  been 
broken.  Whether  on  the  beach,  in  farm-yards,  in  houses  large  or  small, 
in  village  hospitals  cleared  of  contents  for  the  occasion,  or  be  it  in  the  very 
temple  of  some  god,  in  factory  or  tile-yard,  in  rice-wine  brewerv  or 
under  the  shadow  of  some  idol-haunted  old  oak,  there  has  always  been 
the  same  eager  crowd.  Staid  old  \-illage  head  men  listen  with  a thought- 
ful air  and  an  occasional  incredulous  smile  of  superioritt' ; also  officials, 
doctors,  priests,  and  schoolmasters,  rvho  receive  the  profound  respect 
of  the  simple  islander  with  a martyr's  mien.  There  are  boys  just  in 
from  a romp  and  eager  for  another,  but  restrained  by  the  appearance 
of  perhaps  the  only  foreigner  they  have  ever  seen.  Ever  and  again  the 
l.>urden  bearer  of  the  land,  the  poor  woman  with  the  wee  bairn  strapped 
upon  her  back,  modestly  takes  an  unobtrusive  place  and  listens,  as  ever 
woman  has  listened  from  the  days  when  the  IMaster  spoke  till  now,  with 


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wonder  and  deep  longing  written  upon  her  face,  eager  to  know  more 
of  One  who  said:  “ Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor,”  and  whose  life  and 
death  was  one  great  love.  And  so  the  scenes,  the  faces  by.  thousands, 
came  and  went,  and  it  would  seem  a long  year  to  have  held  so  much, 
but  ah!  it  was  all  too  short  to  touch  even  the  very  fringe  of  the  need 
which  they  represent. 


“ 3ln  J^rrtla  in  tlir  ” 

There  were  other  experiences  crowded  into  that  year  which 
do  not  so  readily  appear,  and  of  which  one  can  have  little  or  no 
conception  except  through  actual  experience.  At  first  thought 
it  may  seem  like  a perpetual  pleasure  trip  to  sail  in  and  out 
among  these  islands  for  weeks  at  a time.  Such  is  far  from  being 
the  case,  however,  for  a more  treacherous  and  dangerous  sheet 
of  water  could  scarcely  be  found.  The  islands  for  the  m.ost 
part  are  very  precipitous;  sometimes  they  are  so  close  together 
that  the  deep  water  rushes  with  great  swiftness  through  the 
narrow  channels,  rendering  it  difficult  and  extremely  dangerous 
to  pass  through  them.  Squalls  and  sudden  gales,  often  of  great 
severity,  arise  with  scarcely  a moment’s  warning,  and  treach- 
erous rocks  lie  just  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water,  with  no 
mark  of  warning  to  the  unsuspecting  sailor. 

Self-sufficiency,  too,  on  the  part  of  the  people  meets  the  one 
who  tries  to  draw  their  attention  to  spiritual  things.  Isolated 
as  these  islanders  are  from  the  outside  world,  they  will  never- 
theless contend  that  their  country  has  taken  her  stand  along- 
side the  nations  of  Europe.  “We  have  the  telegraph,  railways, 
steamships,  factories,  an  excellent  educational  system,  a fine 
armv  and  a constitutional  government.  What  more  can  we 
need?”  Their  spiritual  apprehension  is  dull;  their  thoughts 


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are  only  upon  natural  things,  and  all  that  tends  to  be  ennobling 
and  uplifting  exists  only  in  theory.  It  is  a sad  comment  on 
their  religion  that  in  the  towns  which  are  Buddhist  strongholds 
there  exists  the  greatest  ignorance,  the  meanest  squalor  and 
the  lowest  standard  of  morality.  One  must  needs  exercise 
great  patience,  and  not  be  discouraged  if  results  are  slow  in 
coming.  As  the  captain  says,  such  soil  “ needs  ploughing  and 
ploughing  again,  and  then  harrowing  and  harrowing  again,  as 
well  as  sowing  and  re-sowing.  Hard,  persistent,  patient  work 
alone,  will  with  God’s  blessing,  give  promise  of  results.” 


Uiln*  iFtrlb  0iui5pJ» 

Five  years  have  passed  since  the  Gospel  Ship  first  entered 
the  Inland  Sea.  The  day  of  experiment  is  now  over.  The 
practicability  of  the  enterprise  has  been  demonstrated  beyond 
question,  but  in  view  of  the  great  need  which  has  come  to  light, 
it  is  acknowledged  that  further  help  is  necessary.  The  islands 
have  now  been  divided  into  three  groups,  in  two  of  which  evan- 
gelists have  been  settled  at  strategic  points.  They  preach  and 
visit,  so  far  as  they  are  able,  the  towns  in  their  vicinity,  and  are 
already  winning  their  way  by  their  unselfish  lives  and  earnest 
proclamation  of  the  gospel.  Captain  Bickel  aims  to  divide 
his  time  as  nearly  as  possible  equally  between  the  three  groups, 
taking  each  evangelist  in  turn  with  him  on  the  ship  for  four 
months,  and  visiting  many  places  which  could  not  be  reached 
except  bj'  means  of  the  ship.  It  is  his  practise  to  go  only  to 
places  in  which  no  work  has  been  done  or  is  likely  to  be  in  the 
near  future  by  any  other  agency;  and  the  350  villages  and 
hamlets  already  visited  and  the  400  or  more  which  remain  on 
his  list,  thus  far  untouched,  are  all  included  in  this  category. 
What  a s])here  of  usefulness  for  a man  whose  heart  is  on  fire 
with  love  to  the  Master,  and  who  has  a message  which  means 
life  and  salvation  to  lost  souls! 

One  brief  furlough  has  been  taken  by  the  captain,  mainly  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  his  wife  and  children  to  Europe,  because 
of  the  serious  condition  of  Mrs.  Bickel’s  health.  His  return  to 
Japan  via  America  afforded  an  opportunity  of  hearing  from  his 
own  lips  the  story  of  the  blessings,  the  anticipations  and  the 
ever  enlarging  opportunities  of  his  work.  We  learned  also 
something  of  the  dangers  and  difficulties,  but  of  these  he  was 

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loath  to  speak  except  as  their  portrayal  helped  to  show  what 
might  be  done  to  lessen  this  element,  and  furnish  such  equip- 
ment as  would  render  possible  a more  rapid  evangelization  of 
the  field. 

3lttrrpaBP&  JlarilitieB 

With  such  an  end  in  view,  Mr.  Allan,  the  first  and  loyal  friend 
of  the  enterprise,  sent  out,  not  long  ago,  a steam  launch  for  use 
in  connection  with  the  ship.  It  is  proving  verv  helpful  in  reach- 
ing many  a town  to  which  the  larger  vessel  could  not  go.  Not- 
withstanding this  added  help,  experience  has  proved  the  absolute 
necessity  of  a motor  engine  in  the  ship  itself.  Such  added  power 
will  result  not  only  in  a vast  saving  of  time  now  lost  in  waiting 
for  favorable  winds  and  tides,  but  in  the  preservation  of  the 
ship,  so  often  jeopardized  by  the  contrary  winds  and  narrow 
channels,  and  in  the  safeguarding  of  the  lives  of  the  captain 
and  his  crew. 

Jfirat  Jlruita 

With  a courage  born  of  a steadfast  faith  in  the  ultimate  power 
of  his  message,  the  captain  said,  at  the  beginning  of  the  work: 
“ We  will  wait  ten  years,  if  need  be,  and  strive  on  unquestion- 
ingly,  not  looking  for  tangible  results  on  so  wide  and  new  a 
field.”  But  ere  he  left  for  his  enforced  furlough  he  received 
God’s  seal  of  approval  on  his  efforts  in  the  baptism  of  two 
from  among  the  ship’s  crew.  The  story  of  the  transformation 
of  these  lives  is  beautifully  told  in  our  leaflet  entitled  “ Eight 
Bells.”  Later  news  has  been  received,  of  preparations  for  the 
baptism  of  a schoolteacher  whose  gradual  coming  to  the  light 


has  made  quite  a stir  in  the  large  island  where  he  lives.  He 
has  faced  the  probability  of  losing  the  position  of  head  teacher, 
which  he  has  held  for  thirteen  years;  he  has  piet  the  insults 
of  his  relatives  who  say  they  will  disown  him;  and  his  mother 
threatens  to  commit  suicide,  in  the  event  of  his  baptism.  Still 
he  is  firm.  May  many  follow  in  his  footsteps! 


THE  CAPTAIN'S  CABIN 


368*1  Ed.*1  5M-t*05.  Price,  3 cents;  20  cents  per  dozen 


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